


Baby, Love Me Lights Out

by isleysister



Series: Loud Places [2]
Category: Still Star-Crossed (TV)
Genre: Ben POV, F/M, Modern AU, Pining, and..omg they're roomates, mercutio is also rooming with them but he's not in this one, this is my first fic i'm sorry if its terrible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 03:16:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13673133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isleysister/pseuds/isleysister
Summary: Playing checkers for 4 hours to pass the time during a power out wasn’t Benvolio’s ideal Saturday night. He found though that when spent with Rosaline Capulet, it was quite entertaining.





	Baby, Love Me Lights Out

**Author's Note:**

> hmu on tumblr @stillnotoverstillstarcrossed

            Playing checkers for 4 hours to pass the time during a power out wasn’t Benvolio’s ideal Saturday night. He found though that when spent with Rosaline Capulet, it was quite entertaining.

           “Check and Mate!” Rosaline declared. Ben was going to mention that that phrase was usually only reserved for chess but didn’t bother. Rosaline was already rising off the carpet, paying him no mind. With a laugh, she raised her hands up in the air and began to move in weird circular motions, leaning side to side.

            Ben tried to act upset, but a smile threatened to break his annoyed façade. He knew he couldn’t genuinely be mad when losing meant he got to see Rosaline’s dorky celebration dance. Rosaline was too busy two-stepping to even notice his not-so-sore loser grin.

            “That was way too easy. Are you even trying?” Rosaline asked as she did another awkward shimmy of her shoulders.

           “Capulet, I never half-ass anything. You’re just a cheater,” he said as he rested his hands behind his head, laying against the couch with a smirk.

            Rosaline’s dance abruptly came to an end as her arms fell to her sides. With her eyebrows arched and her index finger already raised, Benvolio readied himself for the performance.  

            “I shouldn’t have expected you of all people to simply accept that you lost. You Montagues and your arrogance. You’re just jealous,” Rosaline began a long line of retorts against Ben’s accusation.

            Rosaline would never cheat. Ben was well aware that her pride would never allow for that. He just loved watching her get all worked up. She’d ball up her fists and scrunch up her nose and put on her  _lawyer voice_. The voice that meant “ _I will win this argument even if it kills me_ ”. And the best part of getting Rosaline riled up was how long it took her to realize Ben was messing with her.

            “It’s fucking checkers! It’s nearly impossible to cheat!” she huffed. “I’m a grown-ass woman, Montague, as if I’d ever che-“ she stopped when Ben began cracking up, unable to hold back his laughter anymore.

            “You’re messing with me!” Rosaline yelled, finally in the know. She crossed her arms and Ben even swore he saw her lips pout.

            “Montague, why do you take joy in upsetting me?” she sighed dramatically, clearly frustrated at being had again.

            “Capulet, if you didn’t take matters so seriously, then I wouldn’t enjoy it as much. You only have yourself to blame,” Ben said. He shrugged his shoulders and began putting the checker pieces away. Rosaline spewed out a line of curses under her breath and made her way to the kitchen, probably to get more cookies to soften the blow.

            Rosaline really did get upset over the craziest things sometimes. Forgot to record How to Get Away with Murder? Prepare to be demolished. Chore wheel magnets are missing? She will hurt you. Someone ate one of her chewy granola bars? Death to your whole family.

           But her being quick to anger wasn’t ever over anything gravely important. In fact, if the matter was serious, Rosaline remained quite calm. She kept her head on her shoulders in situations that would bring most people to their knees. Ben assumed that freaking out over small things was an outlet for the bigger problems in her life over which she had no control. He could take being yelled at for trivial things if Rosaline needed to blow off some steam. Besides, her angry face was cute.

 _Okay, let’s not go there,_  Ben thought as he rose and headed to the hallway closet to put the checker box up. He didn’t need to be having these thoughts when Rosaline was so close. Especially when the flaming candles scattered around the living room floor made her skin glow. Especially when her smile lit up the dark room. Especially when her dark curls fell around her face in the most effortlessly gorgeous way. 

 _These are exactly the thoughts you’re not supposed to be having!_ his mind screamed. Taking a breath and shaking his head of his dopey thoughts, Ben closed the closet and headed back to the living room.

          Rosaline was sitting, legs crossed, on the couch, suddenly looking quite sullen. Ben cautiously approached the far edge of the sofa and gently took a seat.

          Slightly leaning forward, Ben said, “Capulet, you alright?”

         “When I was a kid,” Rosaline said, ignoring Ben’s question. Her voice was quiet and shaky.  “My biggest insecurity was that I was too bossy. Too aggressive. Everyone made fun of me for it and even today I still worry about it.”

          Ben’s heart sank into his gut and his hands turned clammy. His childish game of prodding Rosaline into anger was never mean-spirited but obviously, she was hurt by it. Looking up again at her morose expression, Benvolio felt regret and guilt bubble up inside him. He was such an idiot.

          “Rosaline, I’m so sorry,” Ben said, trying his hardest to fill each word with the most sincerity he could manage. “I should’ve realized it was hurtful. I won’t goad you on anymore, I promise.”

         At that, Rosaline looked back up into his eyes, her face giving away no sign that she accepted his apology. Her deep brown eyes shined in the candlelight and dared to swallow him whole. Ben was ready to make another apology when she didn’t seem like she was going to respond until she suddenly erupted into a fit of laughter. Rosaline’s body curled up, shaking with giggles so hard that she struggled to speak. Ben should have seen this coming.

         “You fell for that,” she wheezed out. “You actually bought that sob story! Montague, if you think the business district is where you belong, you’re sorely mistaken. Maybe I should fire you…I don’t think my manager should be so gullible!”

          Rosaline was still chuckling as Ben moved his body to spread out on the rest of the couch, with a performative sigh of exasperation.

          “Okay, you got me. You happy?” Ben said, shaking his head as he rested it on Rosaline’s lap. “Using fake childhood trauma to make me feel bad was evil but also very impressive. Where’s your Oscar, Capulet?”

          Rosaline playfully nudged Benvolio’s head off her leg and stood up.

         “Maybe singing isn’t what I should be focusing on,” Rosaline suggested with a cocky shrug.

         “To deny the world your voice is a crime against humanity,” Ben said without a trace of humor. “But I don’t doubt you could take over the acting world as well. I’d keep your options open.”

         Rosaline’s eyes widened at Benvolio’s unexpected compliment. Ben smiled softly, glad to have thrown her off balance.

         “Thank you,” Rosaline replied with no bite in her voice. Ben nodded in response and guessed from her direction of walking that she was heading off to bed. He checked his phone and was shocked to see it was already 2 am.

        “Goodnight, Ben,” Rosaline called out as she closed her bedroom door.

        “Goodnight, Rose,” Ben answered softly, knowing that she couldn’t hear him.


End file.
